Internal shield splice

Details Internal shield splice Internal shield splice

1999-11-05

2001-09-11

Bradley, Paula (Department: 2833)

Electrical connectors

Including or for use with coaxial cable

Having means for interconnecting outer conductors of three...

C439S098000, C439S616000, C439S464000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06287145

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for electrically terminating shielded electrical wires, and more particularly to an internal braid splice for electrically terminating individual shields on multiple internal wires and which may be installed without the use of tools.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Shielded wire commonly comprises a plurality of concentric layers of material, usually including a metal conductor, an insulating tube or sleeve surrounding the conductor, a braided metal shield (or foil or other shielding material) wrapped around the insulting sleeve, and a second insulating layer surrounding the shield. The braided metal shield is often required: despite the layers protecting the conductive material, electronic equipment powered and controlled through such wires is often vulnerable to electromagnetic interference (EMI), which adversely affects the operation of the equipment. EMI can be generated by nearby electronic components or from electronic wires and cables connecting components to one another and to power sources.
It is well known that performance problems associated with EMI can be reduced by effectively terminating the shields to ground on power and data transmission cables. When multiple internal wires, or wire bundles, are spliced together to join cables or to connect cables to electronic components, it can be difficult and time consuming to terminate and ground each shield individually.
It is desirable, therefore, that a terminating apparatus be capable of collectively terminating the individual shields on multiple internal braided cables to one common ground, all without the need for using tools to accomplish the result.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The internal shield splice of this invention provides a means for electrically terminating the individual shields on multiple wires simultaneously, to one ground. The splice is easy and inexpensive to install and to manufacture. It is comprised of a generally elongate section or segment of transversely deformable material and is preferably fabricated from electrically conductive material such as aluminum or tin plated copper metal. The elongate section is open at each end and has a plurality of longitudinal passages which may be any of a number of geometrical shapes in cross section, including hexagonal (i.e., honeycomb), triangular, circular, square, and so forth. The splice has a generally regular, preferably generally circular, external configuration which is encased in a stainless steel or plastic tie strap or similar clamping article. After the wires (with their individual shields exposed) are inserted through the passages in the elongate section, with the exposed shields of the wires centered in the device, the tie strap is cinched down and tightened. This causes the splice material to crush and collapse around the individual wire shields and effectively grounds the shields together. A ground strap may be pre-installed in the splice to permit grounding of the device to any desired grounding plane (e.g., earth). The product can be further enhanced by attaching the splice to the rear of an adaptor using the steel tie strap.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5716236 (1998-02-01), O'Sullivan et al.
patent: 5885103 (1999-03-01), Ernolf et al.
patent: 6007370 (1999-12-01), Langridge

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